Family files $45 million claim against city over drunk driving crash

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SEATTLE -- A family that was devastated by a suspected drunk driver earlier this year in Seattle's View Ridge neighborhood says the city is partly to blame.

The family of Dennis and Judy Schulte has filed a $45 million claim against Seattle, arguing the city failed to supervise Mark Mullan.

Prosecutors say Mullan was drunk on the afternoon of March 25 when his pickup plowed into the Schulte family as they were crossing the street.

Dennis and Judy Schulte were killed in the wreck, and their daughter-in-law and her newborn baby were severely injured.

Dennis and Judy had just moved to Seattle from Indiana to be near the young family. Judy was an English teacher and guidance counselor who had led a campaign in local schools against drunk driving. Dennis was a retired teacher and coach.

Court records show Mullan was arrested five times for DUI before the deadly March 25 crash. At the time of the crash, he was on probation for a DUI conviction and should not have been driving without an interlock device on his truck.

In their claim against the city, the Schulte family says the city "failed to properly monitor and supervise" Mullan.

"Had the city of Seattle properly supervised Mr. Mullan and enforced the terms and conditions of his probation, the March 25, 2013 collision would not have occurred," the claim reads.

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